


Walk of Fame

by Lecrit



Series: Stars Aligned [3]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Academy Awards, Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Celebrities, Established Relationship, Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, Magnus is King of the World, Twitter, i don't make the rules, so are these tags, so much fluff my teeth hurt, the tweets are out of control
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-27 01:22:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9944063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lecrit/pseuds/Lecrit
Summary: Alec is fairly certain he is the luckiest man in America. On earth. Possibly in the entire universe.He slowly started to convince himself of the now indisputable fact when Magnus and him started dating a year ago after the ceremony that crowned Magnus as King of the World (or Best Actor, but Alec isn’t always objective when it comes to his boyfriend).A lot happened in a year, and Alec knows eventually the wheel is bound to spin and his luck might dim and vanish but as of now, he still feels like the luckiest man on earth, and he is going to make the most of it for as long as it lasts.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello cupcakes!
> 
> My dear oscar anon, I hope you're happy with this. I blame you entirely.
> 
> Huge thank you to [Ace](https://twitter.com/everydayfandom) and [Pravs](https://twitter.com/magnusbake) for their usual magnificence. Love you hoes. ❤
> 
> Happy reading!
> 
> Ps: If you're live-tweeting, please use #lecrit or tag [me](https://twitter.com/_L_ecrit) so I can track it ;).
> 
> Russian translation is available [here](https://ficbook.net/readfic/5927585)

Alec is fairly certain he is the luckiest man in America. On earth. Possibly in the entire universe.

He slowly started to convince himself of the now indisputable fact when Magnus and him started dating a year ago after the ceremony that crowned Magnus as King of the World (or Best Actor, but Alec isn’t always objective when it comes to his boyfriend).

The feeling continued to grow when they both sold their houses to move in together after six months of always being at one’s or the other’s. Magnus hadn’t been too happy about moving in Beverly Hills because it wasn’t exactly quiet and peaceful but the house had been perfect, big enough to fit and welcome all their friends when they visited them but not too much that they would end up getting lost in a myriad of corridors and various useless rooms. It was cosy and with Magnus’ touch and Alec’s absolute unhelpfulness (decorating wasn’t his thing but he had mastered the art of humming to let Magnus believe he actually cared about Persian carpets or colorful paintings), it had soon become their home.

Or at least, it had for the time they had spent there. They had been away in Canada for three months while Magnus filmed Isabelle’s movie, then they had bought the house but had had to leave barely a week after moving in because Magnus had another movie to film in New Zealand, and then they had gone to New York for some promoting and then in Hawaii for some well-deserved holidays.

All in all, they hadn’t really been in their house that much but coming back there after those months of absence had felt natural and that was enough for Alec to know it had become a home to them both. Perhaps because it was the home they had chosen and bought _together_.

His luck continued when Isabelle’s movie (which was brilliant and this time, he was completely, utterly, one-hundred-percent, not-at-all-saying-that-because-she-is-his-darling-little-sister objective) had come out only to swipe five Golden Globes, a few SAGs and twelve nominations at the Oscars. For a movie that talked about an independent woman dumping her asshole of a husband and becoming one of the first women in the Victorian era to obtain a divorce for adultery and to keep her properties as well, it is quite an achievement. Especially when said woman is played by Asian-American actress Lily Chen.

Isabelle is ecstatic, and so are Magnus and Jace who both starred in the movie. She has worked on that movie for years, has written the screenplay herself with the help of her scriptwriter of a husband Simon, and has thrown herself, body and soul into that project. That she is getting the critical and the public success she deserves couldn’t make Alec and the rest of her family happier.

It all happened in a year, and Alec knows eventually the wheel is bound to spin and his luck might dim and vanish but as of now, he still feels like the luckiest man on earth, and he is going to make the most of it for as long as it lasts.

It may also have to do with the fact that his gorgeous boyfriend is currently straddling his legs, sitting on his lap in the backseat of a limo and pretty much making Alec lose his mind with the steady but deadly precise roll of his hips.

“Can you - believe,” he mutters between kisses, gripping Magnus’ waist tightly, “- it’s been - a year?”

Magnus draws back slightly, one hand clutching Alec’s biceps in a strong grasp while the other strokes his scruffy jaw. His lips are a little swollen and his eyes shining with more stars than the Walk of Fame can pride itself on possessing.

When he smiles at him like he is now, small and private but wholeheartedly loving, Alec is brought back to that night a year ago when they finally confessed their feelings to each other and started a relationship that has done nothing to blossom since then. Magnus might have won an Oscar that night, but Alec won something much more important, and has been winning it over and over again ever since.

“Best year of my life,” Magnus whispers reverently.

Alec’s heart clenches in his chest and he gives him a crooked but happy grin. “And mine,” he replies on the same tone, reaching up to curl his fingers on the back of Magnus’ neck, bringing him back against his lips.

Magnus goes willingly, moaning against his mouth and Alec loses all common sense, his mind blanking, erasing the world around them until it resolves only around Magnus, his mouth, his deft fingers tracing the line of Alec’s jaw, his body weighing on his own in the most familiar but dizzying way.

His hands move on their own accord, one sliding under Magnus’ shirt to rub against the smooth skin of his back while the other wanders from his neck to his hair. He barely has the time to ponder on how silky it feels under his touch before Magnus pulls back, grabbing his wrist to stop his hand from gripping his hair properly.

“No touching my hair,” Magnus says, in a reprimanding tone that has Alec blinking out of his daze. “Do you know how long it took to have it look as perfect as it does?”

“It looks too perfect to me,” Alec says firmly. “Let me mess it up a bit. The disheveled look is totally trendy.”

He doesn’t know the first thing about fashion or trendy, and they both know it but Magnus is a good boyfriend - most of the time - so he doesn’t comment on that.

Instead, he laughs, leaning in to peck his lips, albeit far too chastely for Alec’s taste. “My PA wouldn’t approve.”

Alec pluckers his bottom lip into a pout. After reflection, it seems that Magnus isn’t a good boyfriend after all. Calling on his professional side is just plain rude when he is the one sitting on Alec’s lap, although he stopped rolling his hips. Alec hasn’t decided if it is a good or a bad thing yet. He knows too well that Alec tends to put his job before anything else - but that’s only because his job is to make sure Magnus gets the best roles in the best conditions and as far away from assholes as possible. His job is basically to make his boyfriend as happy in his professional life as it is to make him happy in their private life, and Alec is nothing but thorough and a relentless perfectionist so Magnus really isn’t being fair.

“No, but your boyfriend does. Screw your PA.”

“Screwing my PA would be screwing my boyfriend,” Magnus retorts with a smirk.

“Exactly,” Alec says with the most innocent look he can muster. “It’s a win-win situation.”

Magnus bites his bottom lip on a laugh, shaking his head fondly. “I really have a bad influence on you, babe,” he mutters playfully.

“You do,” Alec allows, tilting his head up to kiss him again. “But I’m okay with that.”

He doesn’t give Magnus the time to reply, pressing a hand flat on his back as he pushes his hips up to switch their position, laying Magnus down on the seat of the limo to hover above him. Magnus lets out a surprised yelp that turns into a moan when Alec latches his lips on his neck, pressing heated kisses to his pulse point.

“Alexander,” Magnus groans, half in reprimand and half in pleasure, stretching his head to grant him further access, “we’ll be there in less than ten minutes.”

Alec smirks against his skin, nipping at the point where his shoulder meets his neck. “You know that’s enough time for me to have us both coming.”

“Cocky,” Magnus comments, lacing his fingers through Alec’s hair.

“Why can _you_ mess up my hair and I can’t?” Alec asks, not half as reprimanding as he probably meant to sound, slowly unfastening the buttons of Magnus’ shirt, following the trail of his fingers with his mouth.

“Because I’m the one going on stage tonight,” Magnus replies breathily. “All you have to do is be my boyfriend, stay by my side and look pretty.”

Alec stops his ministrations, glancing up at his panting boyfriend with a curved eyebrow.

“You’re allowed to raid the buffet and sneak champagne to me, too,” Magnus adds, before chuckling at the dubious face Alec is pulling.

“You’re the worst actor ever,” Alec tells him and goes back to nipping at his collarbone.

“I’ve got an Oscar at home that says otherwise,” Magnus says cheekily.

“And you’ll have another one tonight,” Alec mutters bluntly, because no matter how biased he may be, he believes it in his very core.

Magnus is a brilliant actor, and he proved it again in Isabelle’s movie. It might just be a Supporting Actor nomination, but Alec knows as surely as he knows every twist and turn of the movie industry that Magnus can and will win it.

Magnus’ lips curl at the corner, his eyes twinkling with nothing but unabashed love. Alec trails back up his chest to find his lips, kissing him deeply.

“That works so much better than your pep talk last year,” Magnus mumbles against his lips, kissing Alec’s grin.

“You know what would work even better?”

“We’re not having limo sex,” Magnus shoots back, ignoring Alec’s pout. “We’re going to the Oscars, I need to be presentable.”

“But I like limo sex,” Alec definitely doesn’t whine.

As if on cue, two short taps resonate against the black window separating them from the driver, indicating them that they are getting significantly closer to the Dolby Theatre.

Alec groans in defeat, and buries his nose in Magnus’ neck, wrapping an arm around his waist. Magnus plants a kiss on his forehead, nuzzling against his hairline.

“I’m proud of you,” he says after a while, feeling how Magnus’ pulse quickens slightly against his forehead for a second.

“Thank you, my love,” Magnus murmurs.

Alec hums in content, dropping a kiss on his exposed chest.

.

“Magnus, over here!”

“Magnus! Alec!”

“Mr. Bane!”

“Over here, boys!”

“Try to smile, Alexander,” Magnus murmurs to Alec as they stand together on the red carpet, facing the horde of photographs shouting at them. “People are going to think we’re breaking up again.”

“If that happens and you post another picture of me sleeping, _I will_ break up with you,” Alec grits out through clenched teeth and a forced smile.

“My fans like seeing you shirtless and you always say I have to think of my fans,” Magnus retorts. “I’m listening to you, for once, you should be happy.”

Alec snorts, rolling his eyes. “Why do I put up with you?”

“Because you love me,” Magnus reminds him with a wide smile, fluttering his eyelashes at him.

“I do,” Alec replies with an exaggerated sigh.

Magnus beams at him, rising slightly on his toes to press a chaste kiss to his cheek. The flashes of the cameras immediately flutter on their side but Magnus is already pulling back, if only to whisper “I love you too” into his ear.

Alec unwinds at that and his fingers move on their own accord to find Magnus’, lacing them together.

“There,” Magnus says softly, tilting his chin up to glance at him. “A real smile. You’re never more beautiful than when you smile like that.”

Alec’s mouth tips at the corner with a pleased grin and he flushes slightly, squeezing his hand in retaliation.

“I know what you’re doing,” he mumbles, licking his lips.

“Is it working?”

“Yes,” Alec admits.

Magnus chuckles and winks at him. “I know you,” he says with devastating simplicity. “I know when you’re nervous and I know how to calm you down. That’s why we’re the best couple here. Also, we’re much healthier and saner than half of the people on the red carpet right now.”

“Alec! Magnus!” a loud, cheerful voice calls from behind them.

“Case in point,” Magnus quips as they turn to face Jace who is trotting towards them, Clary on his heels.

Alec laughs, throwing his head back and resting a hand on his stomach. It’s enough for Magnus to know it’s a genuine laugh and it fills him with pride and pure, unaltered glee.

Jace doesn’t seem unfazed in the slightest as he pulls them both in one of his characteristic bear hugs.

“You two look handsome,” Clary says after she’s done the same, holding Magnus at arms’ length. “So you went with the Alexander McQueen suit after all,” she adds, wiping non existent dust off of Magnus’ shoulders.

“Only because I managed to make Alexander wear the Yves Saint-Laurent one,” Magnus says. “It would have been a disgrace not to have it worn.”

“The only reason why I’m wearing it is because I managed to convince you to let me go for dark blue instead of red,” Alec grunts.

“Also, I promised you a blowjob,” Magnus retorts with a wide, innocent smile.

“Way to go, brother!” Jace exclaims before Alec can scold his boyfriend, punching his shoulder in what Magnus assumes is support.

Alec heaves out a deep, defeated sigh, shaking his head in despair.

“Jace! Magnus!” a photographer yells loudly on the side. “Over here!”

Magnus let himself be dragged by Jace to face the reporters, a smirk tugging at his lips. Jace is a natural in front of cameras, and his generosity and simplicity in real life is only matched by his love for being in front of a row of photographers to charm the hell out of them.

“You nervous?” Jace asks him quietly, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, although Magnus is taller than him.

“A little, but not like I was last year,” Magnus admits, plastering a wide grin on his lips as he glances at the horde of photographers. “I’ve already got one. I’m not that greedy.”

“But you wouldn’t mind winning another one,” Jace says tauntingly, nudging at his ribs playfully.

“I wouldn’t mind winning a hundred more,” Magnus says truthfully. “It’s an exhilarating feeling. But I’m happier today than I’ve ever been before, so I think I’m already winning at life.”

“I’m happy for you, man,” Jace says, his bicolored eyes shining with honesty. “You deserve it.”

“Thank you, Jace,” he says, and the words feel heavy on his tongue, like they are carrying too much meaning to be uttered so casually.

“Wanna make the tabloids go crazy and start silly rumors so you can post another half-naked picture of Alec in bed?” Jace asks, a devious smirk spreading on his lips.

Magnus laughs, loud and clear. “You’re my favorite in-law,” he replies, voice heavy with mirth. “Don’t tell the others.”

“You say that to all of us,” Jace says matter-of-factly, pulling him into a warm hug. The flashes increase exponentially. “There you go,” he murmurs in Magnus’ ear. “You’re welcome.”

Magnus simply smirks in reply.

“And if you want to keep calling me your in-law, you better put a ring on it, man,” Jace says as he draws back, lifting an eyebrow in defiance. “Make an honest man of my brother.”

Magnus throws him a pointed look. “We’ve talked about it,” he confides, shrugging. “There’s no rush. I'm happy with the ways things are today.”

Jace huffs out a laugh. “You’re already an old married couple anyway.”

Magnus rolls his eyes but can’t help the smug smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. They step away after a while, walking back towards their significant others and Magnus slides his hand in Alec’s.

“Did he hug you to start another stupid rumor about us breaking up?” he asks, deadpan.

Magnus gasps dramatically. “Alexander! I can’t believe you would think so little of us! I find your lack of faith particularly insul-”

Alec grunts a “shut up” between his teeth and leans in to kiss him, quick but hard enough to make Magnus whimper against his mouth, fingers curling around the lapels of Alec’s jacket.

“No more shirtless pictures of me on Twitter,” Alec breathes out against his lips when he pulls back what seems to be a millisecond later.

Magnus pouts. “But it’s fun.  People go crazy every time.”

“People also believe you’re single for a few days before that and I don’t like it,” Alec admits lowly and Magnus freezes in the middle of the red carpet, blinking up at him through his eyelashes.

Alec stops in his tracks too and he swallows as he glances back at Magnus with a sheepish look. He darts his eyes away and shrugs, as if to dismiss everything he just said. “And don’t get me started on the crazy Banecourt shippers that seems to come back from the dead every time,” he adds in a painfully obvious attempt at changing the subject.

“I love it when you’re jealous,” Magnus whispers, unable to conceal the grin that is slowly growing on his lips.

Alec squints one eye dubiously. “Remind me who wanted to break that guy’s nose at that gala last month.”

“He called you pretty boy,” Magnus argues, because he is a reasonable person if nothing else. “And he touched you.”

“He touched my arm,” Alec retorts tauntingly.

“Exactly,” he growls. “Who the hell did he think he was?”

Alec laughs and wraps an arm around Magnus’ shoulders, pressing a kiss to his temple.

“Enough you two,” Jace exclaims from the side and Magnus startles. He had almost forgotten where they were. “You’re hogging all the spotlights. Let me shine a little.”

Alec snorts, tightening his hold on Magnus. “Come on, babe. You should start the interviews now.”

“Yes, boss,” Magnus quips.

“Keep your kinks off the red carpet, guys,” Jace chimes in, wiggling his eyebrows at them.

“Oh, honey, if you only knew,” Magnus replies, his voice dragging the words out in a way that is meant to hold little to no innocence.

“I’m positive no one wants to know,” Alec cuts in sternly, pushing Magnus towards the row of reporters waiting on the side. Magnus curves an eyebrow at him, a taunting smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. “No one _deserves_ to know,” he corrects with a roll of his eyes. “That’s between you and I.”

“I know, babe,” Magnus replies as they reach Aline. “I’m not _that_ shameless.”

“I doubt it.”

Magnus doesn’t have the time to protest because they’re already in front of Aline and he leans in to hug her.

“Boys!” she exclaims cheerfully. “You look handsome!”

“I know, right?” Magnus quips, winking at Helen behind the camera.

Alec shakes his head and takes a step back to leave Magnus to his interview but Aline is grabbing his sleeve before he can disappear from the camera’s field.

“Come on,” she blurts out. “Be a good boyfriend and stay by your man’s side.”

Alec throws her a pointed glare. “He can handle being in front of a camera without me by his side, trust me.”

“But you look too cute together,” she argues. “Magnus’ fans have been asking for a couple interview for a year now and it’s your job to keep Magnus popular and his fans happy.”

“My job is to take care of Magnus’ career,” Alec retorts, lifting a defiant eyebrow, “and to protect his private life.”

“ _You are_ his private life,” Aline counters. “People just want to see you standing in the same frame, you don’t even have to answer much. Just show you’re together and happy. Might stop the breakup rumors that surge every two months, too.”

“She’s got a point,” Magnus says, crossing his arms over his chest, looking at the scene in front of him with bemused eyes.

“Plus, I’m one of your oldest friends,” Aline adds with a nod, and Magnus applauds her inwardly because it’s a low blow but calling in Alec’s loyalty is always a smart move when you want to get something from him. “You already gave the scoop of confirming you were indeed a couple to Ellen, let me have something!”

“Fine,” he growls, heaving out a deep sigh, “but it’s the first and only interview I do. You have three minutes and -” he looks down, checking his watch but Magnus knows it is all pretence and his smirks widens, “- thirty-five seconds before we have to move on.”

Aline is clearly resisting the urge to bounce up and down her feet and clap her hands in excitement when she settles for a simple, but enthusiastic, “Great!”

She turns to face her wife and waits for her to nod before she turns back around to face them, a wide grin on her lips.

“First of all, Magnus, congratulations!” she exclaims. “No less than twelve nominations for Burning Marks, and one for Best Supporting Actor for you, how does that feel?”

“Thank you,” he beams proudly. “It feels great! Isabelle has worked on that project for years and to see it finally coming to life and getting this kind of recognition is wonderful. She was extraordinary through and through and working with her was amazing.”

“And you got to play the bad guy!” Aline prompts.

“Yes!” Magnus says cheerfully. “That was great! My character, Victor, is really an evil bast-”

“Language,” Alec cuts in, brow furrowed.

“An evil man,” Magnus corrects himself with a playful pout. “A terrible husband and an even worse father, but he was interesting to play because there’s so many layers to his wickedness and it doesn’t come out just in his relationship with his wife but in every aspect of his life. It was challenging.”

“Do you have anything in common with Victor?” Aline asks, her serious journalist scowl back on her face.

Magnus narrows his eyes at her, but a playful smirk is tugging at his lips. “Are you insulting me?” He doesn’t leave her the opportunity to deny and apologize, though, waving a hand in a flourish. “I’m joking, Aline. I guess we both…” he trails off, brow furrowing in reflection.

“You both like fine wine,” Alec intervenes, in a soft, gentle voice that matches the look in his eyes, “but I think that’s where the resemblances stop. You’re nothing like him.”

“Why, thank you, my darling,” Magnus says with a wide grin.

“Aw,” Aline coos. “You guys are so cute. Can I ask you how your romantic relationship has affected your professional relationship? Because I know you had been working together for years, and quite effectively so, before you actually became a couple?”

Magnus smiles, tilting his head to glance at Alec. “Do you want to answer that, Alexander?”

Alec seems hesitant for a second but he quickly relaxes, clearing his throat. “Nothing has really changed,” he says truthfully. “We were already close friends but we were able to separate our private and professional relationships before and we keep doing it. I still yell at him when he’s being stubborn and he still refuses to listen to me.”

“That’s not true!” Magnus protests. “I listen to you!”

“After hours-long arguments and the occasional blackmail,” Alec deadpans.

“You can be very persuasive,” Magnus purrs, his lips curling at the corner in wickedness.

Alec rolls his eyes and throws a desperate, see-what-I’m-dealing-with look at Aline, but it doesn’t manage to hide the way his cheeks flush slightly.

“So,” she says immediately, her eyes shining with the unmistakable excitement of journalists staring at golden news, “when’s the wedding? I mean, you’re already acting like a married couple so it just seems like a formality now.”

Alec’s blush deepens and he sputters awkwardly, his eyes widening in shock. “W-What? I mean - it’s not - we’re not - how do you - what are you even -”

“What my gorgeous and very eloquent boyfriend is trying to say is that this is a private matter,” Magnus cuts in, laying a hand on Alec’s chest to stop him before he can sputter to death. “And whether we get married or not, if it happens or when it happens is to remain between us and our close ones.”

“Fair enough,” Aline says with a benevolent nod. “Last question: is your winning speech another love declaration to your PA?”

Her grin is nothing short of mischievous now. Magnus laughs, and Alec joins him, the reminiscent of his blush still coloring his cheeks.

“We’ll see if I win,” he says, and he winks at the camera.

“Good luck out there,” Aline tells Magnus, although she is clearly looking at the both of them and Magnus wonders if she knows something he doesn’t. “And don’t let Ellen have all the scoops next time!”

Magnus chuckles, sends her an apologetic smile and lets Alec drag him to the next reporter. He pointedly avoids Fox News, because the last time Magnus gave them an interview didn’t end well - for them at least, Magnus was just ecstatic and happy enough to shut a bigoted reporter’s mouth - and Alec had to deal with a shirtstorm after that but then again, he is used to clean up the messes Magnus’ big mouth can cause.

Not that he usually complains about Magnus’ mouth, he thinks, smirking to himself.

He is going through his third interview, Alec patiently waiting on the side, hands hooked behind his back and his serious, professional, be-careful-what-questions-you-ask-or-I’ll-dig-a-hole-in-your-skull glare full on, when a joyful shriek cuts through the air and Magnus turns around just in time to see Isabelle Lightwood, adorned in a gorgeous red gown that mold around her curves flawlessly, jump at her brother’s neck, crushing him into a tight embrace, and Alec swaying slightly on his feet with the shock of it but quickly regaining his balance.

Magnus ties up his interview quickly, blabbering the banalities that he rehearsed before the ceremony with Alec, and joins them, only to become himself the victim of a hug attack.

“Oh my God!” she shrieks in his ear, making him wince. “Oh my God! I’m at the Oscars.”

Alec curves an eyebrow. “It’s not your first time at the Oscars.”

“I’m a nominee,” she says, punching his shoulder.

“I know,” Alec replies, huffing out a laugh, hazel eyes shining with fondness and pride.

“Seems like I need to translate everything today,” Magnus mumbles under his breath, before laying a comforting hand on Isabelle’s shoulder, a soft smile on his lips. “What he means it that we’re very proud of you and we can’t wait to see you win, Izzy.”

“We?” she echoes, a mischievous spark shining in her dark eyes. “Are you one of those couples that only use ‘we’ to talk about themselves now?”

Magnus rolls his eyes and opens his mouth to answer, but Simon is joining them before he can, laying a hand on his wife’s back. “They even roll their eyes together,” he says, wiping fake tears from his eyes. “True love. It’s beautiful.”

Alec heaves out a deep sigh. “Time for security check, Magnus,” he says. “ _We_ don’t need to suffer their presence any longer.”

“I am right behind you, which is always my favorite place to be,” Magnus replies, smirking. “Lead the way.”

.

Alec has been to the Oscars many times before, even before he met Magnus and became his agent. Wearing the Lightwood name in Hollywood opens many doors, some of them he had gladly opened at an early age, others he still keeps firmly shut today. But even with his years of experience, he still is mesmerized by the sea of gowns and tuxedos every time he sits in the Dolby Theatre on that night of the year and watch the room fizzing with an explosive cocktail of anxiety, jealousy and genuine happiness.

It is the first time, though, that he sits next to a nominee. The previous year, he had been sitting in the shadows, tucked away, because he had been there as Magnus’ agent. Today, he is here as his plus one, and it changes everything.

Now, he understands much better why Magnus was so nervous the year before. Being in the middle of a crowd of legends of the movie industry is intimidating, and the fact that everyone keeps in mind that this is and remains a competition is nerve-racking.

Alec is impossibly grateful that he is sitting between Magnus and Jace this year. He recalls the year before perfectly, waiting nervously for Magnus’ award to come up (why, oh why did the best actors awards had to be at the very end of the ceremony?) while being unable to reach out to him in case of need. He had known how agitated Magnus were and he had had to suffer and endure the ceremony away from him.

Today is different, and it feels just right to take a seat next to his boyfriend and be able to lace their fingers together as they anxiously await for Magnus’ category. It makes it all better.

“Babe, I lied,” Magnus whispers to him as Jimmy Kimmel goes through his opening monologue, talking at length about Isabelle’s movie and its twelve nominations.

Alec frowns, turning to face him. “What?”

“I lied,” Magnus repeats, and his voice trembles just slightly enough for Alec to know he is serious. “I’m not cool about this. At all.”

He smiles the most reassuring smile he can muster, bringing Magnus’ hand up to his lips to kiss the back of it. “I know,” he murmurs. “It’s gonna be alright. You’re allowed to be nervous, it’s okay. I’ll be just here and hold your hand.”

“If I die, I want you to raise Chairman Meow as your own,” Magnus tells him solemnly.

“He’s already my own,” he replies softly. “And you’re not going to die. You’re going to win that shit because you’re the best and Morgenstern can suck it.”

“Oh God, if he wins, I quit this career to move to a nice and warm country and become a tarot reader, I swear.”

Alec chuckles, rubbing his thumb on the back of his hand. “And where would that leave me?”

“As if I’d ever leave without you,” Magnus retorts at once and Alec smirks.

Magnus is always honest, especially with him, but there are two situations in which he just blurts out the truth without any care for the consequences: when he is nervous, and when he is drunk. The combination of the two is usually as cataclysmic as it is whimsical.

He can feel Magnus’ fingers shaking against his own, and he is biting on his bottom lip, his eyes riveted on the stage, where Chris Evans is now talking to present the award for Best Original Screenplay.

“Hey,” he whispers, gently squeezing his hand. Magnus turns his head to look at him, and his eyes are a chaos of anxiety and excitement. “Even if you don’t win - but I know you will - you’re still the best actor the world has ever seen to me.”

Magnus smiles, small, and tender, and impossibly loving, and it makes Alec’s heart loop in his chest. “Thank you, my love, but I don’t think you’re very objective.”

Alec leans in to press a kiss to his cheek. “Of course I’m not. That doesn’t mean it isn’t true.”

“... Isabelle Lightwood for Burning Marks!”

There is a clamor of applause as Isabelle leaps from her seat in front of Magnus, tugging on Simon’s sleeve next to her to plant a kiss on her husband’s lips, before pulling away and moving behind to hug Magnus, Alec, Jace and Clary who have sprung to their feet to cheer for her. Her ear-to-ear grin is only matched by the vigor of the embrace she tugs Alec in and he hugs right back just as fiercely.

“Congratulations,” he murmurs in her ear, voice trembling with emotion. “I’m so proud of you.”

She gives him a tearful beam and strides to the stage to accept her award. When she hugs Chris Evans, her hands linger on his biceps and she squeezes, prompting a loud laugh out of him.

When she gets to the mic, exuding confidence as she always is, she smirks.

“Real life Captain America right there,” she says. “Sorry, Simon,” she adds, winking at her husband, who just shrugs, pulling a face that says he would have done exactly the same.

As she goes through her speech, thanking the Academy, the studios and everyone who helped making her dream come true, Alec tightens his hold on Magnus’ hand, his heart rummaging in his chest.

He might be the one not surviving that night.

.

What Magnus hates the most about award ceremonies is the wait.

The long, dragging, unbearable wait.

Admittedly, it is not as bad as last year, because the Best Actor category is among the very last ones every year but still, all the technical awards come in first, then the animated ones, and when finally, _finally_ , Meryl Streep is called onto the stage, he is nothing but a ball of nerves.

Her smile is luminous as her eyes dart over the room, that mesmerising charisma of hers exuding off every smile and every motion as she talks about the nominees and gestures towards them. When she waves an elegant hand towards Magnus, he gives his best blinding smile to the camera, resisting the urge to squirm on his seat. When she is done talking about his role and how talented he is (which is, to say the least, always nice coming from Meryl Freaking Streep), she moves on to Sebastian Morgenstern and Magnus loses interest immediately.

“You know,” Alec murmurs next to him, and Magnus recognizes the teasing edge of his tone and angles his head to look at him, curious, “I recognize that smile you just gave to the camera.”

“It’s my I-am-screaming-inside smile,” Magnus says with a nod.

“No, it’s your I’m-gonna-charm-the-pants-out-of-you smile,” Alec retorts with a pointed glare that is belied by the smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “It’s the same smile you give me when you’ve done something stupid and I start yelling at you and you distract me with sex.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Magnus replies airily. “That’s a smile I only have for you and I would never dare to give it to the rest of the world, because you’re the only one I want to charm the pants out of.”

Alec snorts but a delicious, pleased blush is coloring his cheeks as he turns back to watch Meryl Streep who is finishing her praise of the nominees. She takes a deep breath - Magnus mimics her, squeezing Alec’s hand - and opens the envelope in her hands.

“And the Oscar goes to…” she says, her voice trailing off. Magnus’ heart misses about twenty beats in the quarter of a second. “Magnus Bane!”

He doesn’t have the time to understand what is happening - and again, much like the year before, why that name sounds awfully familiar - because Alec is already pulling him up on his feet and tugging him into a hug that has Magnus melting into his arms, his legs shaking frantically.

“What?” he murmurs into Alec’s ear, while his blown eyes catch his friends’ cheerful faces behind his shoulder.

“You won, babe,” Alec tells him, pulling back to cup his face between his hands. “Go up there,” he orders, jerking his head toward the stage. It is obvious he is holding back because of the countless eyes set on them, but Magnus is too shocked to say anything, so he just nods, moving to hug Jace and Isabelle.

He has barely taken two steps down the alley that leads to the stage that the reality of what is happening dawns on him. He has the strongest sense of déjà-vu but at the same time, it all feels new, and it is a disorienting feeling. But this year, unlike the one before, he has something to anchor him right back to reality before he can slip away.

He stops dead in his tracks and quickly turns back around, trotting his way back to Alec, who is still on his feet, applauding so loudly that he must be hurting his hands.

Magnus grabs a handful of his shirt and pulls him down, smashing their mouths together, quick and messy and tearful but perfect nonetheless. There is a mixture of cooing and laughter in the room, perhaps because of the way he backtracked halfway to the stage to go kiss his boyfriend, but Magnus at least has his priorities set straight, if nothing else.

“I couldn’t do it last year, don’t think I’m gonna pass on it this year,” Magnus tells him when he pulls back and all he gets in answer is Alec blinking at him, eyes a bit glassy.

Magnus plants another peck on his lips and ushers back towards the stage, taking the steps two at a time. He bows in front of Meryl Streep - because he has been told it is the proper thing to do when facing a queen. She laughs heartily and tugs him into a hug, and Magnus’ breath is knocked out of his lungs as she pulls back and pushes him toward the mic.

“I just hugged Meryl Streep,” he blurts out in disbelief, and the room erupts into laughter.

He blows out a shaky breath, setting a hand over his beating heart as if it could tame the way it is pounding in his chest. “You can’t do this to me every year,” he says, leaning into the mic. “My heart can’t handle it.”

He takes a deep breath. “I can’t believe I’m standing here again, not with the talented actors I was up against.” He gives a smile to the other nominees in the room, but he doesn’t name them, because that would mean uttering Sebastian Morgenstern’s name and complimenting him and Magnus would rather shove his Oscar in a blender and eat the remaining pieces than do that. “Congratulations, gentlemen. It was an honor to be nominated among you.”

“I don’t have much time and I promised I wouldn’t exceed the time limit if I won this year so I’ll try to make it quick,” he says, and his slight pout prompts another wave of laughter out of the audience. “I’d like to thank the cast and crew of ‘Burning Marks’. Lily, you were phenomenal. You set the bar so high I had to bring on my best game to keep up with you, so I couldn’t have done this without you.”

Lily sends him a thankful grin and blows him a kiss. Magnus smiles, turning his gaze to Jace. “Jace, you were alright, I guess.”

If the audience is a bit shocked by his statement, it quickly subdues as Jace bursts into laughter, a loud, obnoxious guffaw that resonates through the room.

Then, his eyes find Isabelle’s and his smile softens, his eyes crinkling at the edge. “Izzy, you’re the heart and soul of this movie and your prodigious talent is only matched by your blinded generosity with your actors and your fearless altruism in life. It was an honor to work with you, but it’s even more of an honor to be able to call you a friend, and I’m not just saying that because I won another one of these thanks to you,” he says, holding up the Oscar in his hand, a light smirk tugging on his lips.

He inhales deeply and closes his eyes for a second, gathering his thoughts, for he wants his brain fully operational when he opens them again to look at Alec.

“Alexander,” he breathes out in the mic, and he hears the way his voice seems to purely and simply melt as he utters that cherished name, and he thinks, somewhere in a corner of his mind, that maybe this simple word is a statement on its own and it makes the rest of his speech irrelevant, but he says it nonetheless.

“My darling, you are my life, and I love you,” he says, voice wavering with emotion. “Thank you for everything. I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives sharing the bed with you and those two little guys,” he adds mirthfully, holding the Oscar against his stomach in the crook of his elbow like he would a child.

Alec shakes his head in staged exasperation, but his grin is spreading from ear to ear and his eyes are tearful when he mouths “I love you too”.

Magnus is positive his expression must be disgustingly sappy but he just won another Oscar and if it gives him the opportunity to broadcast his happiness to the world, he will. Sue him.

“Thank you all so very much,” he says finally, and he turns around to leave the stage but a thought flies through his mind and he goes back to the mic in two strides. “Won't be caught twice,” he announces promptly. “Raphael, thanks for enduring me when I was just a young man with dreams bigger than himself. Now keep all those embarrassing pictures to yourself, you have no excuse, you salty little s-”

He cuts himself off before he can finish his sentence but the idea hangs in the air and the crowd laughs, clearly not fooled by his apologetic smile.

Alec is face-palming in his seat, and Jace is laughing hard by his side.

Magnus is on top of the world.

.

When Magnus gets back to his seat, a couple of young actors he has never heard of or seen before is on the stage, presenting the Best Live-Action Short Film award, but he doesn’t pay them much attention. Alec perks up as he slips into his seat, his hazel eyes shining with glee, and Magnus leans in to kiss him, soft and grateful.

“Told you you were the greatest,” Alec mutters when he pulls back, an uncontrollable grin tipping the corner of his lips up.

“What was it Tessa said last year?” Magnus whispers, nuzzling against his neck. “Behind every great man, there’s another great man.”

Alec chuckles against his ear, pressing a kiss to his hairline. “That’s not how the saying goes.”

“Bullshit.”

Alec snorts, wrapping an arm around Magnus’ waist. “I can’t believe you swore on stage.”

“Technically, I didn’t,” Magnus retorts, pulling back from his hiding spot to give him a conceited smirk. “I was very well-behaved.”

“You know, the more time goes, the more I think you actually don’t know the meaning of that word.”

“Says the guy who was so worked up by the sight of me in my Victorian costume that he dragged me to the first storage room he found on set to-”

“Magnus,” Alec hisses disapprovingly, cutting short the memory, his cheeks flaming red.

Magnus smirks. Isabelle’s movie had been brilliant from the start, but the fact that it had been set in the Victorian era had definitely been a welcome bonus. Alec had surely seemed to think so at the time.

“Oi, stop acting like an old married couple and show me that Oscar!” Jace calls out from the side, far louder than the ceremonial silent in the room would normally allow.

Magnus rolls his eyes but ignores him, and carefully deposits the statuette in Alec's hands instead.

“This is for you,” he says simply when Alec throws him a confused look.

“What?”

“This is for you,” Magnus repeats pointedly. “I already won the best reward I could have hoped for last year.”

Alec doesn't reply immediately, his head ducked to stare at the golden award in his hands. He licks his lips and blinks up at Magnus.

“You are unbearably sappy,” he says, with the softest smile Magnus has even seen him bear.

“And impossibly grateful,” Magnus allows with a nod. “I couldn't have done it without you. Not this year, not last year.”

“You would have,” Alec replies, not an ounce of doubt in his voice. “You would have just struggled to find someone as patient as me to look after you.”

Magnus breathes out a soundless laugh. “True that.”

“I love you,” Alec murmurs, pressing a quick, chaste kiss to his lips.

Magnus is about to answer when someone taps on his shoulder. He holds back an annoyed groan and turns around to face the intruder. It's a petite woman, with brown hair tucked in a strict ponytail and a badge on her chest from the Academy.

“Oh, yeah,” he blurts out before she can say anything, straightening in his chair. “I'll be right there, dear.”

He turns in his seat to plant a soft kiss to Alec's lips. “See you on the other side, my love. I love you too.”

Alec rolls his eyes, mutters something under his breath that sounds a lot like ‘drama queen’ and Magnus smirks, jolting to his feet to follow the woman backstage.

He wonders if the red carpet was always so soft or if he is just experimenting a real reenactment of the expression “walking on a cloud”.

Probably a bit a both, he ponders to himself.

.

“To present the Oscar for Best Actress, please welcome two times Academy Award winner Magnus Bane.”

“He's going to make me change his business card again, isn't he?” Alec whispers, more to himself than to Jace, as he watches Magnus walk onto the stage, a wide, blinding grin on his lips.

Jace snorts next to him and goes to pat his chest in comfort but freezes when his hand finds something hard instead.

“Please tell me you have something in your pocket and you're not just very turned on because your boyfriend is on stage,” he murmurs in a blank voice that hitches up with dread.

Alec rolls his eyes. “I have something in my pocket and it’s my chest pocket, that joke makes no sense,” he growls.

Jace curves an eyebrow in inquiry and he pats Alec’s chest over the pocket, feeling the box with his fingers. His eyes widen when he realizes what it is.

“Is that- Oh my God!” he blurts out, somehow managing to make his whisper sound like a yell. “You're going to propose!”

“Don't -” Alec tries, but Jace is already leaning over him to tap Izzy on the shoulder.

She turns around to face them. “What?” she hisses, chastising. “He's about to announce the winner!”

“Alec is going to propose!” Jace exclaims, just as Magnus’ voice echoes in the theater, “Lily Chen!”

Isabelle bolts to her feet, a huge, excited smile on her lips and Alec doesn't know if she is clapping because her lead actress just won an Oscar - the fifth for her movie that night - or because of Jace’s big mouth.

She hugs Lily when she goes to her on her way to the stage and turns back around as soon as she is done with her speech.

“Oh my God, Alec!” She doesn't even try to conceal her excitement, and Alec slides into his seat and tries to make himself as small as possible, frozen in mortification. “When?”

“When we get back home,” he grumbles begrudgingly, barely audible.

“When they get back home,” Jace repeats, louder, leaning towards Alec to hear him properly.

Alec runs a tired hand over his features, shaking his head in despair. “This is exactly why I didn't want you two to know,” he deadpans. “You are terrible at being discreet.”

“What do you mean us two?” Isabelle asks, curving an eyebrow. “Who knows?”

Alec purses his lips, glaring at his siblings. When it becomes obvious that they will not give up, he heaves out a deep sigh.

“Mom and Dad helped me organize the whole thing and Max came with me to pick the ring,” he admits reluctantly.

“What?” Isabelle all but yells. “They know and you didn't tell us?”

A few curious stances turn to them, a few brave ones even daring to hush her but Isabelle throws them a murderous glare that has them looking away.

“I wonder why,” Alec growls when his siblings’ preying eyes are on him again.

They scoff in perfect synchronisation, but their indignation doesn't seem to last more than a second.

“Do you have a speech prepared?” Jace asks.

“What did Mom and Dad help you for?” Izzy inquires.

“Do you realize Magnus is gonna want to use the Chairman as the ring bearer?”

“Are you sure you got the right ring size? Can I see the ring?”

“Are you absolutely certain Magnus is going to say yes?”

That, for one, captures Alec’s attention. He startles and his eyes widen and jerk to the side to look at Jace with a mixture of pure betrayal and shock.

“What? Why would he say no?”

“I-” Jace starts, but cuts himself off. “No, never mind.”

“Jace,” Alec grits out through clenched teeth, pointing a threatening finger at him.

“Nope,” Jace says firmly, shaking his head. “If I tell you _,_ you're gonna freak out and chicken out.”

“If you don't tell me, I will post that video of you,” Alec growls. “You know the one.”

“You wouldn't,” Jace whispers with narrowing eyes.

“Try me, _Madonna_ ,” Alec retorts and although his lips tip up into a smirk, there is no humor to his tone.

“You're evil,” Jace states, always the measured one. “Fine,” he exclaims then, throwing his hands up in the air, “but don't say I didn't warn you.”

He pauses, and leans even closer, his voice barely above a whisper. “When we were on the red carpet earlier, Magnus called me his in-law. His favorite one, may I add,” he says, sending a conceited glance to Isabelle, who scoffs in indignation. “I told him that if he wanted to call me that, he should probably put a ring on it.”

Alec opens his mouth to protest - and by protest, he means call his brother a few names that one shouldn't normally utter when there are cameras around - but Jace’s next words make the insults die in his throat.

“He said you had talked about it but that there was no rush. Said he was happy as it was.”

Alec goes very still, perhaps inhumanly so, his whole body freezing in shock. He had been so stressed about making the whole thing perfect that he didn't stop for a second to think that Magnus might say no.

They had talked about it, yes, but it was always to say how it seemed evident to them both that they would end up together and thus marriage was just a formality, something they would do when they were both ready for it.

Alec had thought they were, but perhaps he has been fooling himself, has projected his own desires to Magnus’.

“Fuck,” he breathes out.

“No, no, no,” Jace says, shaking his head. “That's exactly why I didn't want to tell you. Don't listen to me, everyone knows I'm not the clever one of the family.”

Alec rolls his eyes. “You're the one who's better at reading people, though.”

“And all I can read is that Magnus loves you so much it is almost disturbing. And disgusting. He's gonna say yes.”

“He's right,” Isabelle chimes in, with a soft, reassuring smile. “Don't start freaking out now. Apparently, you've been planning this for a while. This is what you want. So go for it.”

Alec nods, his shoulders still tensed and summons the most confident smile he can.

It seems to work because Isabelle claps her hands quietly, beaming.

“My big brother is getting engaged! This is the best news I've heard all day,” she exclaims happily.

Alec guesses she is proven wrong when she wins Best Director ten minutes later, and Burning Marks Best Picture after ten more, but he appreciates the sentiment.

.

@thristymalex i don’t mean to sound thirsty but i lowkey hope we’ll get another shirtless Alec picture tomorrow morning

@aleceatsmagnus @thirstymalex don’t disappoint us @magnusbane you gotta celebrate properly

@highwithmagnus okay but that couple interview tho they are so in love i can die happy

@baneslight Can we all agree that Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood invented love?

@alechotstuff seriously, Alec needs to stop looking at Magnus like he’s going to jump him right in front of everyone. Give that boy a tall glass of water.

@malecschildren I really need Malec to adopt me. Please. I’ll bake you cookies.

@malecnews honestly I was almost expecting Magnus to drop on one knee and propose to Alec in front of everyone. They have no chill.

@thirstymalex @malecnews Pretty sure if Magnus had dropped on his knees the Oscars would have turned PG-17

@malecnews @thirstymalex I can live with that.

@mrscamillebane Camille and Magnus both wore dark blue. Coïncidence? I think not.

@magnoscar @mrscamillebane they have so much in common, it must be true love

@baneslight @magnoscar @mrscamillebane the salt is strong with this one

@magnusgetsthewood MY DADS LOOK SO HAPPY TOGETHER I’M DEAD

@magnuslightwood Alec telling Magnus to watch his language in their couple interview? M A R R I E D. Show us the rings, boys!

@walmartwood @magnuslightwood pfff magnus is too good for that asswood guy.

@magnuslightwood @walmartwood it’s funny how every time we see them happy together the banecourt uglies seem to crawl back from their grave

@sirmagnusbabe I have 17,000 problems and all of them are Malec kissing on the red carpet and looking stupidly happy. I hate them.

 

Magnus rolls his eyes fondly as he reads the tweets from Alec’s phone, head leaning against his shoulder.

“I think you should really reconsider my idea of adopting a few of them,” he says mirthfully. “They’re already calling us dads.”

Alec snorts, still scrolling through his feed, quickly reading a few articles about Magnus’ win and the success of Isabelle’s movie.

“I already have Jace, the Chairman and you to deal with,” Alec retorts, and Magnus can hear the smirk in his voice, but also the slight dryness layering it. “I put up with enough children as it is.”

In any other circumstances, Magnus would huff out an exaggerated gasp and go through a monologue about Alec hurting his feelings. It would be very dramatic and utterly _Magnus_ , but right now, one, he is too comfortable to move and two, his foolish happiness after the incredible evening they had is started to slowly evaporate.

Alec has been awfully quiet ever since they climbed into the limo that takes them from the Dolby Theatre to the Vanity Fair after-party and it is more worrying than Magnus cares to admit.

“Can we skip the after party and go straight home?” he asks in a lazy breath.

This seems to get Alec’s attention because he tears his eyes off the article from the New York Times he was reading and pulls away from Magnus, who lets out a disapproving groan. He turns to look at him, raising a bewildered eyebrow.

“You want to skip a party? An after party? Full of people ready to gush about how talented and great you are? What’s wrong?”

His brow is creased in worry and Magnus pushes his lips together, levelling him with an impassive gaze.

“I don’t know, Alexander, you tell me,” he says, not unkindly, but in an uncompromising tone that reflects how serious he is. “You’re the one who’s been giving me the silent treatment since we left the theatre.”

“I’m not-” Alec starts, but realization crosses his features and he stops abruptly, hazel eyes widening. “I have, haven’t I?”

Magnus nods once, but doesn’t reply, gesturing for him to explain with a flourish of his hand.

“I’m sorry, babe,” Alec sighs, and he leans in to peck his lips lightly. Which is frankly not fair because Magnus is trying to be strong and prompt an answer out of him and this is not helping. “I’m just a little nervous.”

Magnus softens immediately, and he gives up the stern facade to reach out and grab Alec’s hand. “Why?”

Alec opens his mouth to reply but he closes it again, before mumbling under his breath, “You know how I am with parties”, with a dismissive shrug that doesn’t seem half as nonchalant as he probably wished to be.

There is a reason why Magnus is the actor out of the two of them, and Alec proves it again right then. Magnus has known him for years and they have shared everything. There are not many people that can claim to know Alec as well as Magnus does. So Magnus knows that when Alec lies, he scratches his eyebrow scar. Which he does, right now.

“Why are you lying to me?” he asks with narrowing eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I’m not,” Alec says, and scratches his brow again.

Magnus scoffs in annoyance. “You’re the worst liar the world has ever seen, Lightwood. Spill.”

Alec stares blankly at Magnus for a while, lips tugged in a thin line, brows furrowed stubbornly. Then, his expression softens and he leans in, pressing a lingering kiss to Magnus’ lips. Magnus tries to pout against his mouth but well… Alec is kissing him. It takes approximately twelve seconds for him to melt against him. He wraps his arms around Alec’s neck and parts his lips to allow him to slide his tongue inside.

When Alec pulls back, they are both embarrassingly short of breath and as he nips at Magnus’ jaw line, before sucking on his neck, Magnus cards his fingers through his hair.

“I know what you’re doing,” Magnus groans. “You’re trying to distract me.”

He can feel Alec smile against his skin. “Is it working?”

“Yes,” Magnus admits. “You’re a terrible person.”

Alec hums in agreement against his skin, his fingers trailing up Magnus’ chest to unfasten the buttons of his shirt one by one.

“Maybe I just want to reward my man with a blowjob because he just won an Oscar for the second year in a row,” he mutters against Magnus’ skin, tongue twirling over a nipple.

Magnus moans, his back arching of the backseat he has somehow ended up laying on, although he has no idea how or when it happened. “Is it really a reward for me when you’re the one with the limo sex kink?” he mutters teasingly though heavy pants.

Alec chuckles and digs his teeth lightly on his ribs in retaliation. Magnus groans, his fingers tightening their hold in Alec’s hair.

Alec’s hand slides swiftly beneath Magnus’ slacks, and Magnus forgets how to word.

He really needs to keep up that Oscar-winning spree.

.

The after-party is already buzzing when they arrive, and Alec pretends the wide grin he is sporting is solely the aftermath of Magnus’ and Isabelle’s success and has nothing to do with mind-blowing sex.

He is pretty sure he isn’t fooling Jace, though, if the knowing smirk he gives him when he leaves Magnus to chat with Tessa and joins them by the bar is anything to go by.

“You look too happy, it’s suspicious,” Simon says, raising an eyebrow. “Did you propose in the limo?”

“How do you -” Alec starts but stops himself to glare at his sister instead.

Isabelle gives him a wide, innocent grin. “He’s my husband. I tell him everything.”

“Plus, I was sitting right next to her and you’re really not that discreet,” Simon adds pointedly.

“Or you just like to listen in in conversations that don’t concern you,” Jace retorts. “But that’s not his I-just-got-engaged face,” he says, gesturing at Alec. “It’s his I-just-got-laid face.”

“And it was great,” Alec says matter-of-factly, with no other motivation than to see Simon’s eyes widen in realization.

“Oh,” he sputters. “That’s great. I mean, not great in that way. I don’t know if it was great. I sure it was. I mean, I don’t care what you do with Magnus. Well, no, I do care but it’s your private life so it’s great. Not great in a weird way, uh, I don’t have fantasies about Magnus and you. You’re my brother-in-law, that would be weird. I just mean it’s good to know you guys have a healthy sex life and -”

“Simon,” Alec cuts in sternly. “Shut up.”

“Shutting up now,” he says with a relieved breath.

“So, tell us more about that big plan of yours,” Isabelle prompts, never one to give up.

“No,” Alec says.

“Oh, come on!” she protests, pouting. “It’s not fair!”

He is about to tell her off when Maryse and Robert walk up to them, arms linked together. Alec smiles at them and drops a kiss on his mother’s cheek.

“It’s all ready,” she tells him, winking.

“Thank you,” he says, but the breath he releases is not half as allievated as it should be.

Jace’s words are implemented into his brain now and Alec has a high tendency at overthinking things. He had been doing a great job so far at not letting his bad habits catch up on him but now all he can think of is: what if Magnus says no?

He knows Magnus loves him, just as fully and wholeheartedly as Alec does, but maybe he is not ready to take that next step, maybe he doesn’t want to get married.

Worse: what if he says yes just to protect Alec’s feelings? He can’t deal with that.

“Alec, are you okay?” Isabelle asks, brow furrowed in worry.

He sucks in a deep breath, but it does nothing to tame the way his heart is pounding in his chest.

“What if he says no?” he blurts out, sliding his trembling hands in the pockets of his slacks, casting a wary look to make sure no one is listening in their conversation. “What if he breaks up with me because he really doesn’t want to get married and he thinks I’m pressuring him? What if I’m so nervous I can’t remember the speech I prepared? What if he says yes just because he thinks I want it but he doesn’t? What if it all goes wrong?”

His outburst is followed by a long silence. His family stares at him like he’s just grown a second head. He pushes his lips together and forces himself to inhale deeply through his nose.

“Dude,” Simon breathes out, eyes wide in disbelief.

“Son,” Robert says, and there’s a hint of amusement in his voice, “I have a very strong feeling that he’s going to say yes. Call it paternal instinct.”

Now he just sounds like he is about to burst into laughter and Alec really hates his father sometimes.

“Robert!” Maryse hisses disapprovingly, hitting him on the shoulder. She softens when she turns to face Alec, reaching up to cup his face between her hands, tugging a loose strand of raven hair off his forehead. “It’s gonna be fine, sweetheart. Trust me.”

Alec nods, shutting his eyes. “Okay,” he mutters. “I’m sorry,” he says when he opens them again, shaking his head to regain his composure. “This is Izzy’s big night. I didn’t mean to ruin it and make it about me.”

Isabelle huffs, waving his comment away with a dismissive hand. “Please, as if anything could ruin my night right now. The whole world finally knows how fabulous I am.”

Alec scoffs out a laugh, and gives her a genuine smile, unable to hide how proud he is. The look on her face, equally happy and excited, is almost enough to make his apprehension fade away.

“Here,” Jace exclaims, slamming a hand on his shoulder and a suspicious-looking flask on his chest, “have some liquid courage, man. It might shut down that overthinking brain of yours for long enough to go through with it.”

Alec nods and takes a long sip, despite his parents’ protest. The alcohol burns his throat and he grimaces as he gives Jace the flask back. “What was that?” he asks, voice strained like he just ran a marathon.

“Jace’s secret recipe,” his brother replies with a wicked grin.

“That’s disgusting,” Alec groans, and he takes another sip.

.

It’s already past three in the morning when they slip back in the car that are going to drive them back home. Alec is a bit tipsy, but not actively drunk. He is definitely not as nervous as he was, though, and he manages to relax when Magnus lays on his back to drop his head on his lap, his feet on the roof of the limo as he stretches his legs out.

Alec smiles, sliding a hand under his shirt, whose top buttons have miraculously popped open sometime during the night, to lay it over Magnus’ heart, soothed by the steady beats under his fingertips.

Magnus hums peacefully, turning his head to press a kiss on Alec’s forearm.

“I could stay like this forever,” he says quietly.

Alec chuckles, rubbing his thumb over his chest. “On the backseat of a limo?”

“Don’t act like you would mind,” Magnus retorts teasingly.

“Stop kink-shaming me,” Alec reprimands him playfully, a small smile ghosting on his lips.

“I would never,” he pleads bemusedly. “We share everything, babe. Your kinks are my kinks.”

Alec snorts. “I’m sure that sounded a lot better in your head.”

“You got the point.”

Alec rolls his eyes and they fall in a peaceful silence for a while. Magnus has his eyes shut and a small smile on his lips and as Alec glances down at him, completely ignoring the city lights that skid away by the window of the car, he realizes he has no reason to be nervous.

Even if Magnus says no, Alec is just as happy keeping things the way they are. Not perfect, not uncomplicated but absolute in their honesty, indefectible to the core.

He snaps a quick picture with his phone just because he can and because if his memory ever fails him, he wants to keep that moment right there safe and protected.

Magnus’ smile broadens. “Paparazzi,” he mutters, eyes still firmly shut.

“Don’t insult me,” Alec says, and perks up when he looks by the window. “We’re almost home.”

“I don’t want to move,” Magnus says with a pout. “You’re gonna have to carry me.”

“Can’t do, I have my hand full with that Oscar of yours.”

“You have a handful indeed,” Magnus retorts, a taunting smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“That was terrible,” Alec deadpans, or at least attempts to, but a fondly amused smile is belying his words.

“I know, but you love it.” Magnus pushes on his elbows reluctantly, stretching his long limbs out and swirls around to plant a quick peck to Alec’s lips, just as the car pulls to a stop.

They thank the driver and tip him generously before heading towards the front door and it is just as they stand in front of it, Alec twirling his keys nervously between his fingers, that it dawns on him that as soon as he opens the door, there is no turning back.

Magnus tilts his head to the side, frowning slightly. “Are you okay, darling?”

Alec heaves out a deep breath. “Yeah. Yes.” He nods once and slides the key in the lock, giving one last look at Magnus before he opens the door. “I love you,” he murmurs reverently.

They might get engaged tonight, or they might not, but no matter what, this is not going to change, and that is enough to sooth his mind.

“I love you too,” Magnus replies at once, his eyes crinkling at the corners when he smiles.

Alec pushes the door open and gestures for Magnus to go in first. When he doesn’t move, throwing him a curious glance instead, Alec waves his hand with instance.

“You’re acting very weird,” Magnus tells him as he walks inside. “I don’t know what was in Jace’s flask but I hope for him it was only legal stuff. I would hate to have to kill him.”

Alec shakes his head fondly and joins him in the hall in two strides, throwing his keys in the bowl in the entry before plastering his chest against Magnus’ back and his free hand on his hips.

“Look at you being the responsible one,” he chuckles in his ear, dropping a kiss on his temple. “You hungry?”

“Starving,” Magnus groans.

Alec hums, pushing him towards the living room. He stops to drop the Oscar on the spot he has prepared next to Daniel the Oscar before they left the house hours ago, despite Magnus’ attempts at telling him he wasn’t going to win.

Magnus stares at the statuettes for a while, a look of disbelief on his face.

“I’m proud of you,” Alec tells him softly, hooking their fingers together.

“I’m proud of us,” Magnus replies.

Alec rolls his eyes but doesn’t argue. He has given up on trying to make Magnus admit that he did it all on his own.

“Come on,” he mutters instead, tugging on his head to drag him to the French door leading to the patio.

As expected, a table is waiting for them there, already all set, a tray of elegantly decorated sushis sitting between their plates. His parents went a tad overboard with the rose petals that scatter the tablecloth and the floor - Alec is pretty sure Robert is to be held responsible for this, he was ridiculously hyped up about the whole thing - but it looks beautiful, even more so when Alec steps forward to light up the candles on the table, leaving a bewildered Magnus at the door.

“What -” he breathes out, but doesn’t finish his sentence.

Alec gives him a crooked, shy smile. “Sit,” he says, and it sounds more like a question than a demand.

Magnus blinks, but obliges, taking a seat in front of Alec.

“What is this?” he asks then, seemingly having found his voice again.

“Sushis,” Alec replies matter-of-factly.

“I know that.” Magnus rolls his eyes, grabbing a petal from the table, twirling it between his fingers. “I meant this,” he says, holding it up in front of Alec’s eyes.

“That’s a rose petal. It comes from a red rose.”

Magnus throws him a pointed, exasperated glare, but that doesn’t manage to hide his pleased grin.

“You’re a smartass.”

“Yup.” Alec nods, pouring them both glasses of wine.

“Sushis from Nobu, my favorite French wine, rose petals,” Magnus enumerates airily. “Are we celebrating something?”

Alec just stares at him, curving an eyebrow.

“The fact that I’m gonna make you change my business card again aside,” Magnus says.

“Whether or not we are celebrating something is up to you,” Alec replies unhelpfully.

Magnus throws a petal at his face, but it just swirls in the air amidst them and lands on a maki.

“I had a whole speech prepared but -” Alec pauses and takes a deep breath, reaching in his inside pocket to grab the box with trembling fingers. He sets it on the table, sliding it toward Magnus. “I suck at speeches,” he finishes, as Magnus gasps under his breath. “I was gonna talk about how you’re the love of my life and all that sappy stuff about wanting to wake up next to you every day for the rest of my days and growing old with you and watching you win a dozen more Oscars but I don’t think words would do justice to how I feel about you. But maybe actions can so…” He opens the box and bites on his bottom lip, tilting his head to catch Magnus’ eyes, who is frozen in his seat. “Marry me?”

For a few excruciatingly long seconds, Magnus is silent. His eyes are widened and tearful, his lips parted in shock.

Alec is about to run inside and hide forever, his nerves slowly rising up again - he should have drank more of that evil beverage Jace carries around - when Magnus finally seems to remember how to function.

Or well, something close enough.

In all the scenarios Alec’s rambling mind had concocted, Magnus laughing at his face had never been an option, so when it happens, it feels more like a slap to the face than it would have if Magnus had simply uttered a cold and cruel no.

Alec closes the box abruptly, feeling his cheeks burn with both mortification and anger.

“Okay, you can just say no,” he snaps, pushing his chair away from the table to rise to his feet.

“No, wait, babe, I’m sorry,” Magnus calls out, but he is still laughing, and Alec refuses to let him witness his crestfallen expression.

He is about to step back inside the house when a firm hand curls around his biceps, halting him.

“Want to laugh to my face some more?” he growls, his head jerking to the side to meet Magnus’ eyes.

And the look on Magnus’ face is almost enough to make his wrath vanish into thin air. His eyes are glimmering with unshed tears and his grin so wide it makes his eyes crinkle the way that always makes Alec feel like he is witnessing a small miracle.

“I’m not laughing at you,” Magnus says softly, tipping his head up to peck his lips. “I’m laughing at the situation.”

“What’s so funny about me proposing to you?” Alec asks, more exasperated than angry now. He blames Magnus for being so damn beautiful, and his heart for knowing exactly where it stands.

Magnus keeps a hand firmly hooked on Alec’s arm and reaches in his inside pocket with his free hand. He plucks out a small, dark blue velvet box and Alec’s eyes widen in shock.

“You beat me to it,” Magnus says softly, and, dropping his tone even further, his voice smooth like the first rays of sunshine on a summer day, “Of course I want to marry you.”

Alec huffs out a relieved breath and wraps his arms around Magnus’ waist, smashing their mouths together. Magnus chuckles against his lips, sliding his arms around Alec’s neck, kissing back just as fiercely, just as passionately.

Alec isn’t quite sure Magnus is the real winner of the night.

.

They’re in the kitchen the next morning - or well, early afternoon, but those are irrelevant details -, Magnus sitting on one of the stool by the kitchen, chin propped on his hand as he watches Alec cook breakfast, when the bell rings, breaking the quiet peace they had found.

Alec sighs and turns around, facing Magnus, who is reluctantly sliding off his chair. He runs a hand in his hair and as he does, the ring on his hand glimmers under the morning light, and Magnus feels ridiculously giddy at the sight.

He pats Alec on the chest and drops a kiss on his shoulder before walking to the front door.

He isn’t half as surprised as he pretends to be when he is greeted by the entire Lightwood-Lewis-Fray family at the door, minus Max because he started college and his parents to let him skip classes to attend the ceremony (he didn’t seem to mind that much and Magnus and Alec suspect he has a secret girlfriend or boyfriend he doesn’t want to talk about just yet).

“Show me your hand!” Isabelle yells at once, and grabs it before he can even think about doing as instructed. She shrieks at the sight of the ring on his finger. “He said yes!”

“You know he did!” Alec calls out from the kitchen. “You harassed me until I told you he did last night.”

“I did not,” she gasps, stepping inside without further ado, her high heels clicking on the designer ceramic floor tiles Magnus has carefully picked out, making him cringe a little.

“You sent me seventeen texts and left me six voice mails,” Alec replies, stepping in the hall, wiping his hands on a cloth.

“Yes,” Isabelle says. “So?”

Alec doesn’t answer, rolling his eyes instead, but accepts the kiss she smacks on his cheek willingly.

Magnus scoffs in amusement and turns back around to face the rest of their impromptu guests. “We’re moving out and we’re not telling you where,” he tells them, gesturing for them to come in.

“You know I would find you wherever you go, dear,” Maryse tells him, and Magnus believes her.

“There’s probably a chip on you somewhere,” Simon confirms, nodding.

“If it were true, Alec would have found it by now,” Jace says, a wicked smirk tugging at his lips. “No matter how well it’s hidden.”

“You are disgusting,” Magnus deadpans, accepting the hug Jace pulls him in nonetheless.

“Thank you,” Jace says, patting his back. “And thank you for the whole, you know, making-my-brother-happy thing,” he adds in a murmur for Magnus’ ears only.

“You’re very much welcome,” Magnus says, and his heart flutters in his chest with warmth.

“So, who proposed?” Robert blurts out, rubbing his hands together.

“What do you mean?” Alec asks, brow furrowed in confusion. “You know I did. You helped me set up the whole thing.”

“You haven’t told him?” Robert inquires, sending a puzzled look to Magnus.

“We’ve been otherwise busy. I didn’t go through the details,” Magnus eludes, and refuses to elaborate further, but Jace’s snort by his side is telling him he doesn’t need to.

“Tell me what?” Alec asks again.

“That I was planning to propose too,” Magnus says.

Jace, Isabelle, Simon and Clary gasp in such perfect unison that he is almost worried for them.

“Yeah, I know that,” Alec says, and freezes. Magnus can almost see the wheels starting to work in his brain. He licks his lips, turning an accusatory glance to his father. “But how do _you_ know?”

“Magnus came to us to ask if he could propose to you,” he explains with a shrug. “We said yes. We can never have too many Oscar winners in the family.”

“Which is obviously not the reason why we said yes,” Maryse says sternly, throwing a chastising look to her husband.

“Of course not,” Robert says, an innocent smile playing on his lips.

“Okay, stop,” Alec blurts out, throwing his hands up in the air. “You knew we were both going to propose and you didn’t tell me?”

“Exactly,” Maryse says. “So, you proposed first, right?”

Alec squints his eyes at them, lips pressed together.

“You’ve got another bet going on, don’t you?” Magnus says, crossing his arms over his chest.

“A little bit of competition is healthy in a couple,” Maryse says in lieu of an answer, but Magnus supposes it is probably as good as he’s gonna get.

He ignores them royally and turns to Alec. “Breakfast?”

“It’s one in the afternoon,” Jace chimes in.

“I’m already disinheriting my parents, don’t tempt me too,” Alec growls, pointing a threatening finger at his brother.

“Drama queen,” Jace huffs out, casting a pointed glance at Magnus. “You’re rubbing off on him.”

“Not in public,” Magnus retorts, and it is probably a testimony of how well they came to know him that no one in the room even bats an eye.

He supposes family is people who know you very well but still love you the same.

.

@jacelightwood Those sappy assholes. #otp #disgustinglycuteandallthatshit

The tweet is accompanied by a picture of Alec and Magnus sprawled on their couch on the patio, eyes shut to savour the afternoon sun on their skin, Magnus’ head tucked in Alec’s neck and Alec’s arm wrapped around his shoulders, his head tilted back. It is an awfully intimate picture if you really look at it, but Alec can’t bring himself to get mad at his brother, because he is too ridiculously happy to be mad at anything or anyone right now.

@thristymalex @jacelightwood asdfghjkldkfljgldkfjglkfdjglkfdjlfkgjldkjglkfjdlkjgflkdfjgldjglfkjd

@aleceatsmagnus @thirstymalex @jacelightwood OMG SAME

@alechotstuff thank you @jacelightwood, we can always count on you to share the good stuff with us

@banewoodseternity @jacelightwood you’re the real mvp

@baneslight @jacelightwood OH MY MAGNUS IS THAT A RING ON ALEC’S FINGER?????????

@malecschildren @baneslight @jacelightwood HOLY SHIT IT IS

@ismalecengaged @jacelightwood PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS NOT A DRILL

@malecnews @jacelightwood @ellendegeneres ELLEN WE NEED YOU TO WORK YOUR MAGIC AGAIN, QUEEN.

@mrscamillebane @jacelightwood okay maybe they’re a little bit cute. whatever.

@magnoscar @jacelightwood My dads might be engaged. I’m crying.

@magnuslightwood Do you think Alec waited for Magnus to win a second Oscar to propose just because he could?

@aleclightwood @magnuslightwood Obviously. I have standards. Cool username, by the way.

“You should probably turn off your phone now because it’s going to explode,” Magnus chuckles, plucking the phone out of Alec’s hand to throw it on another chair.

Alec smirks proudly.

“I can’t believe you went to my parents to ask for my hand,” he scoffs.

“It’s the Victorian era movie. Gave me ideas, I guess,” Magnus taunts. “And I’ll have you know I’m a gentleman.”

“Sure you are,” he murmurs against Magnus’ hair, pressing a kiss on his hairline. “I love you.”

Magnus hums in content, turning his head to brush his lips against Alec’s. “I love you.”

Alec could get used to feeling like he is the luckiest man in America. On earth. Possibly in the entire universe.

.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr [@lecrit](http://lecrit.tumblr.com/) and on twitter [@_L_ecrit](https://twitter.com/_L_ecrit).
> 
>  
> 
> Happy Oscars Day and may the best ones (*cough* Viola Davis *cough*) win!
> 
>  
> 
> All the love,  
> Lu. ❤


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